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Death Toll Soars To 1,600 Plus In Devastating Myanmar Earthquake; Danish FM Scolds Trump Admin For Its Criticism Of Denmark & Greenland; GOP Rep. Booed For Not Demanding Hegseth Resignation; White House Pulls Elise Stefanik's U.N. Ambassador Nomination; Protest Movement Targets 500 Tesla Locations During Global Day Of Action. McConnell: "Embarrassing Naivete" In Trump Admin.'s Dealing With Putin; Dow Drops 715 Points Friday Over Inflation, Consumer Concerns; Trump Targets Smithsonian For Funding "Improper Ideology". Aired 12-1p ET

Aired March 29, 2025 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[12:00:00]

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: -- is also blooming this weekend. A glorious way to begin the spring season of renewal.

That's what we need. That's what we all have time for right now. Don't forget, you can find all of our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thanks for watching and see you again next week.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, we begin with this breaking news. Desperate rescue operations are underway right now in Southeast Asia after the strongest earthquake to hit Myanmar in more than a century. The death toll soaring today to more than 1,600. And with every passing moment, there are growing fears that death toll will rise significantly higher.

Quite incredible. The quake registering a massive 7.7 magnitude and flattening multiple buildings as you see right there in the region. That's just one example. Thousands hurt in the chaos and many more are still missing at this hour. International responders are now on the ground to assist in the rescue operations.

CNN's Will Ripley is in Bangkok where a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Will, what is the situation there and what about these rescue efforts?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred. Yes, the good news about rescue efforts in Myanmar where there are an untold number of building collapses that have yet to see a significant response like what's happening here in Bangkok. There is now boots on the ground albeit a limited number. You have rescuers scheduled to arrive tomorrow from here in Thailand.

They're going to fly over to do a preliminary assessment of what the need is in Myanmar before they send in more significant resources. They've really deployed a huge number of crews out here.

I'll just show you what they're doing at this pile of rubble which was a 30-story skyscraper. You have now a lot of heavy equipment that is on the scene along with hundreds of volunteers, probably thousands if you add them all up. Not just the people digging through the rubble but also the support here in terms of medical staff just in case they're able to find any survivors.

They haven't found any new survivors today by the way. They've only pulled one dead body from the rubble despite searching since the very early morning hours but they're continuing to delicately go through that hoping that they might have a chance of finding more survivors although that hope is dwindling with each passing hour.

In addition to the Thailand crews that are going to be going to Myanmar to look for situations like this in which they can assist, there's also rescue crews, Fred, that are coming in from places like India and China and Russia and other countries including the United States. President Trump himself pledging to help the situation in Myanmar which is a very different situation than what we're seeing here in Thailand where they have a robust disaster response.

Myanmar has been gripped by a multi-year civil war. They're relatively, not even relatively, very much impoverished with pretty dismal infrastructure on a good day. And so at least now we know that there are initial steps being taken to get into that country and provide some sort of a response although certainly nothing at the level of what we're seeing here in Bangkok right now.

These rescue efforts continuing, but we don't know how long it's going to be before they start -- stop using the word rescue and start using the word recovery. But it's certainly been pretty upsetting and frustrating for families. They've been waiting here on the scene hoping that their loved ones might be rescued, hoping that they might still be detecting signs of life from inside that pile of rubble only for them to be able to pull one body in many hours today of searching.

WHITFIELD: And then, Will, what kind of technology, what kind of resources, you know, are available for their rescue before it becomes potentially recovery?

RIPLEY: Yes, it's been interesting to watch. They've been deploying flying drones over the site all day and those drones have infrared sensors among other things. They've been using good old-fashioned sniffer dogs as well and there's a lot of them that have been deployed out here to try to see if they can detect signs of life just by having the dogs sniff around.

They've also been trying to basically see if they can either make contact with anybody in the building or even make contact with people's mobile phones because there were actually cell phones that were heard ringing at one point inside the debris although most family members have been telling us that when they've been trying to make calls the phones are now just turning off automatically.

So they basically have -- they have a lot of resources out here, but for the most part what they've been doing for the last 36 hours or so is digging by hand or maybe using some hand tools but they're avoiding trying to get the heavy machinery too close to where they think people might be because they don't want to cause anything that could destabilize it just in case that there is actually somebody who still managed to be alive even though, again, as I said hopes are certainly fading here.

[12:05:17]

And they believe there are a hundred people or so trapped in there and it's been discouraging today that they haven't found anybody.

WHITFIELD: All right, keep us posted.

Will Ripley, thank you so much in Bangkok.

All right the Danish foreign minister is rebuking the Trump administration for its tone after Vice President JD Vance criticized Denmark during a visit to U.S. troops on a remote Greenland military base on Friday. Vance's trip comes as the Trump administration pushes to gain control of the Danish territory while talking to the troops Vance accused Denmark of neglecting Greenland.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

JD VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Denmark has not kept pace in devoting the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops, and in my view to keep the people of Greenland safe.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: Those comments did not go over well with Denmark's leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN, DANISH FOREIGN MINISTER: But let me be completely honest, we do not appreciate the tone in which it's being delivered. This is not how you speak to your close allies and I still consider Denmark and the United States to be close allies.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: For more now, let's go to Betsy Klein in West Palm Beach Florida near Trump's Mar-a-Lago home where he's spending the weekend. So Betsy what are you hearing?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Yes. Well, President Donald Trump has expressed interest in annexing Greenland since his first term and in his second term we've seen him talk openly about getting control of Gaza and the Panama Canal in Canada as well.

But this really marked a very significant show of force from Vice President JD Vance along with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and the Energy Secretary Chris Wright in Greenland at a U.S. Space Force base on Friday.

It really marked the first highest profile effort toward taking control of this semi-autonomous island to date. And President Trump says he wants to acquire Greenland, quote, one way or another something he's repeatedly expressed and Vance making the case Friday that this is a matter of safety.

He took aim at Denmark saying they have not done a good job by the people of Greenland and argued that the U.S. is better equipped to ward off threats from China and Russia. Of course as you mentioned that is spurning strong response from the foreign minister of Denmark which controls Greenland. He said Denmark does not appreciate the tone that the U.S. is taking although Denmark does still consider the U.S. an ally.

Now for his part, Vance said that the people of Greenland will have ultimate self-determination and he hopes that they choose to partner with the U.S. Of course, President Trump himself has declined to say whether the U.S. plans to take Greenland by force, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Betsy Klein, thank you so much, near West Palm Beach.

All right, another Republican town hall turned raucous. This one unfolded in Indiana last night. Republican Congresswoman Victoria Spartz facing boos and jeers when she was asked what her response is to the Trump administration's leaked group chat involving military strikes in Yemen. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, my name is Stephanie Remula (ph) and I just wanted to see what your plan is to address the issue with the administration talking about classified military operations. And so --

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And will you demand the immediate resignation of Pete Hegseth?

(APPLAUSE)

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who demand the immediate resignation of Pete Hegseth, Michael Waltz and the rest of the group.

(APPLAUSE)

REP. VICTORIA SPARTZ (R), INDIANA: So I -- so let me just address, no I will not demand their resignation.

(BOOING)

SPARTZ: And actually you should post all of the resignations that were posted to the Senate anyway, so you should talk to your senators. Hopefully, they'll have town halls for both senators, OK? So you can attend them and talk to them a little bit more.

[12:10:10]

But talking about that, there is one thing that I want to share with you. I think it is actually very bad and there is some classified and usually classified information. We have a mechanism to share that and deal with that, but there is sensitive information that might be classified.

And one thing, and one thing, I have to tell you that may need to do a better job than we have tools for sensitive information where we can communicate with each other. So we don't have innocent mistake or just something happened by mistake because that way it's not a good situation.

So hopefully, we'll take some -- you know, look at that and actually -- because we don't even have as a members of Congress a lot of Democrats and Republicans using signal because we don't have any other tools. And I was very surprised when I became members (INAUDIBLE).

So we have two (INAUDIBLE) very deep classified. But you don't always have to go in a skiff and be able to have this conversation. You can't even kind of do that. So I think with all the technologies that happen in the real world, it's sad that government is so (INAUDIBLE) on every single technology. And actually that's what Iran is trying to do, it's trying to bring technology into our government.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, it's clear there that almost all that she said was not received well in that audience because you heard a lot of booing, a lot of jeering, you heard a lot of shouting.

Joining me right now to talk more about this is Stephen Neukam, he is a congressional reporter for Axios. Stephen, great to see you.

I think even if you couldn't understand all of the words, you could understand that people are really emotionally charged, you know. And these voters in that district are eager to talk to their members of Congress about what it is that they're feeling.

I think there was some clarity in the person who was asking the question, she's asking for a resignation of Pete Hegseth. And we could get there from Spartz, she says we did hear her say no, she's not going to be calling for his resignation.

So at this juncture now, what are Republican lawmakers doing with this, you know, sense of animus and anger coming from their constituents? You know, how is this helping them either craft better legislation or a better message to bring to the White House?

STEPHEN NEUKAM, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, AXIOS: Yes, good afternoon, Fred. I think that, well one, I think that there are a lot of Republican lawmakers who are actually sort of ducking these types of interactions all together, right? We've seen a wave of Republicans sort of opt for virtual town halls not doing the town halls at all over the phone.

Remember a few weeks ago, the Rich Hudson, the lawmaker who runs the campaigns of House Republicans advised House Republicans to not do in town -- in-person town halls. So I think that there is an effort across the board, many of them, to just not get into these interactions in the first place.

But I think Spartz's reaction is one that is sort of like the average Republican reaction when it comes to the Hegseth and the Signalgate drama. I think that they're -- they will admit concern that this information was shared in an unclassified setting and information that certainly seems like it should have been confidential but they won't go the step further of calling for Hegseth or anybody else involved in the group chat or in the breach to step down.

WHITFIELD: So how long can it go on in that way? Because, yes, we've seen now these very heated town halls taking place for a matter of weeks now and there is a kind of a posture of defiance coming from the lawmakers. But at some point, something's got to give, right?

NEUKAM: Yes. And I think what is going to transform this situation is actually sort of the attack plan that Democrats use. How long can they draw this out? Obviously, the White House, this is something that they would love to go away. I think the same thing for a lot of Republicans on Capitol Hill.

But Democrats want to make this a long drawn out oversight process for Republicans. Remember, Republicans held the Hillary email scandal over the Democratic Party for years. And finally, a similar dynamic has fallen into the last (ph) of Democrats on Capitol Hill and they are taking the opportunity to go on the offensive.

And you've even seen some Republicans, some senior Republicans like Senator Roger Wicker, who's the chairman of the Armed Services Committee request investigation from the Defense Department.

[12:15:00]

So there is some willingness here from Republicans on Capitol Hill as well to investigate this. We'll have to see what the outcome of those investigations are, the internal probes, and what do Democrats use that material to do going forward.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then let me ask you about the withdrawal of the nomination of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Trump said he's concerned, you know, about the tight numbers in the House and thereby he's withdrawing her nomination. But they knew that even when she was nominated.

So what in your view is this really about? Is this about how nervous the White House is about, you know, the power of the GOP and the House, or is there something else?

NEUKAM: Yes. Well, two points you're right. And they knew from the beginning not just when they picked Elise Stefanik but when they picked Mike Waltz to be the national security adviser, some other folks in the administration pulling from the House.

They already had very small margins before they pulled those folks out of the House. So now that's sort of coming to roost. They took all these lawmakers out of the House and they need them to get Trump's legislative agenda through Congress.

And then the second point I think is, it's the reality of the political situation that the polling especially in Florida this special election that's going to happen next week, it's just a R plus 10 plus 15 district very safe Republican district.

The White House Republicans are spooked by what they're seeing in the polling the Democratic challenger for the election next week. So I think it's a combination of them pulling too many folks out of the House, but also the political situation transforming on the ground.

A lot of motivated Democrats, very energized base. And I think that spooked some Republicans with these special elections.

WHITFIELD: All right. Axios' Stephen Neukam, thank you so much.

NEUKAM: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, still to come, the growing anger against Elon Musk and his DOGE policies is being voiced loud and clear at Tesla showrooms around the world. We'll show you the widespread protests happening today.

And former Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell calls the Trump administration's relationship with Vladimir Putin extremely naive. His reasons for that blunt criticism straight ahead.

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[12:22:08]

WHITFIELD: All right, this just in. We're seeing new dramatic video of seven Tesla cars burning outside a showroom in northern Germany. So far police have not confirmed the cause of the fires or connection to the international protests against Elon Musk.

This comes as Tesla facilities are on alert as the hashtag Tesla takedown movement sparks global protests targeting the automaker. These are live pictures right now of protests in New York and D.C. Organizers say they're trying to send a message against Elon Musk's role in gutting entire U.S. government agencies and the mass firings of federal workers.

Demonstrators in Germany today holding signs and actually laying on the floor of a Tesla showroom in Berlin in opposition of the Trump administration policies. The Tesla takedown movement denies any involvement in vandalism against Tesla in recent weeks.

Meantime, police in Las Vegas have arrested a man suspected of setting fire to several Tesla vehicles last week. CNN's Marybel Gonzalez is in Burbank, California. Marybel, what are you seeing there? MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well, nothing yet but we know that is expected to change later on this afternoon. Now for the last couple of weekends, we've seen groups of people lining outside of Tesla facilities just like this one. And today, we're expecting that to continue as part of what they're now calling a global Tesla takedown.

As you mentioned, we saw some of those protests happening in Germany. The first -- one of the first that we're seeing happening outside of the country and also protests as we speak in Washington D.C. and in New York.

Now protests protesters are asking Tesla owners to sell their cars and ditch their Tesla stocks. This in criticism of the CEO of Tesla Elon Musk's role in the government now and also of his federal cuts to workforce and agencies as part of the department of government efficiency.

Now these demonstrations have been growing in a number of protesters. We know that there's local organizers in at least 28 states across the country. And one local organizer here told me there's already been about 100 people who have signed up for a protest today in nearby Pasadena.

Now these protests as you mentioned have been peaceful people just picketing with signs and chants outside of these facilities. But we know that hasn't been the case for other attacks, other acts of vandalism on Tesla car owners, Tesla charging facilities, and also the facilities just like this one.

This past week, the FBI announced a new task force to help investigate some of these acts of vandalism. The justice department saying they're cracking down on these acts with the Attorney General Pam Bondi calling them domestic terrorism. This sentiment echoed by Elon Musk himself on his social media platform X.

[12:25:07]

Now some of these this incidents date back several months in Austin. We know that there was a bomb squad called in to remove a suspicious device from a Tesla facility and now we know a man, a 36-year-old Paul Kim has been arrested and is facing federal and state charges for allegedly using Molotov cocktails to set a Tesla facility on fire in Las Vegas.

I should mention he is facing charges including arson and unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm after an AR style rifle was recovered at the scene. So, Fredricka, we're just waiting to see how the protests today unfold. But as I mentioned, these local ones have been by and large peaceful.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let us know if anything changes.

Marybel Gonzalez, thank you so much.

All right, in a moment, the Trump administration dealing with more fallout from the signal group chat controversy. More voters demanding investigations and firings.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:29]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, new details today, four people were killed and more than a dozen were injured when Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian city of Dnipro late Friday. That's according to a Ukrainian official. The U.S. has been negotiating with both Ukraine and Russia about ending the war. Ukraine says it has agreed to an unconditional ceasefire, but Russia has resisted signing on, putting up a number of conditions, including no rearming of Ukraine's military.

Let's get more now with Jill Dougherty. She's a CNN contributor, former CNN Moscow bureau chief, adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Great to see you. So earlier this week, former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said there is an embarrassing naivete in the Trump administration's dealings with Vladimir Putin. Was that fair criticism?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think you could argue that point. There's no question. I mean, we have to make sure that we all understand, of course, that President Trump is not listening to Mitch McConnell. So that is important. But I think President Putin -- President Trump is listening to himself and the relationship that he has or he perceives that he has with Vladimir Putin.

And I think that's what Mitch McConnell is trying to get into. I mean, he's saying that this is naivete. And naivete, you know, signifies manipulation, possible manipulation. And if you look at some of the things that McConnell said, and it was a very strong statement and a speech, he said, let's take one, negotiating -- negotiators masquerading as neutral arbiters. Well, I think although he didn't use the name, he's talking about Steve Witkoff, who is the United States special representative to Russia.

You could argue, and if you look at the facts, really, the Russians have gotten a lot out of this. It's not particularly neutral. The, you know, the terrible Oval Office meeting temporarily -- the U.S. temporarily suspending aid and intelligence. And then the U.N. vote, which was supposed to blame Russia, the United States does not vote -- votes against that, et cetera.

And then I think there are some other things, very specific things that -- that Steve Witkoff said that McConnell is taking issue with. And one of them is legitimizing sham elections. Now, one of the reasons Vladimir Putin says, you know, we have this territory that we took in Ukraine and it is ours legally. And so President Trump and his team have actually taken that, especially Steve Witkoff have taken that as a fact when actually it is not.

I mean, those, you know, referenda were held really at the point of a gun. So to say that those people, you know, voted to become part of Russia is not correct. I think, you know, overall, Fred, I think the message that McConnell is saying is this naivete is leading to the United States doing things while other countries, China, Iran, North Korea, but especially China and Iran, are looking at this and taking notes and taking lessons from how the administration is dealing with Russia.

WHITFIELD: You mentioned Witkoff, while he is a Middle East envoy, he has been the one who met face to face with Putin. He has been instrumental in these negotiations. But then I wonder, you know, is part of the Trump administration's handicap in dealing with Russia the part that it doesn't really have a solid Russian expert in the mix?

DOUGHERTY: That is true, actually. I mean, Steve Witkoff is not. He may be a canny businessman, you know, from real estate, but he is not a Russia expert. And, you know, I'm not arguing that you have to have a PhD in Russian history, but what I am saying is somebody who has, you know, some knowledge going back quite a while to understand where Putin is coming from and the words that he used uses actually have meaning.

I mean, when he's talking about, you know, votes in Donetsk, etcetera, there's a history to that. And if you don't understand where he's coming from, you're not going to be able to negotiate effectively. And I think that's where the manipulation can come in, because all of this is being driven by President Trump, and President Trump wants a resolution ASAP.

[12:35:12]

So you could argue, as some people have, some Russians argued, President Trump wants a deal and a ceasefire and the end to the war more than Putin does. And when you're in that position, you know you're not -- you're not negotiating at full strength.

WHITFIELD: Even though this week, just this week, Trump said he does believe that Russia wants a deal, wants peace, but that they are dragging their feet. That was his quote. All right, Jill Dougherty, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

All right, straight ahead, the Trump administration now looks to clear out the Smithsonian museums of what it is calling improper ideology.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:40:35]

WHITFIELD: It was an ugly week on Wall Street at the Dow dropping 715 points on Friday. That's more than 1.5 percent in a single day. Investors are worried because inflation is proving to be tenacious in the U.S. and there's growing concern over the potential impact of President Trump's array of tariffs. All of this is being reflected in consumer sentiment. In February, it was down almost 12 percent from where it was this time last year. Let's get some insight now from John Leer. He is the chief economist with Morning Consult. Great to see you. So let's start with inflation because it's something people see and experience every day. Why are prices staying high?

JOHN LEER, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MORNING CONSULT: Prices are staying high for a few reasons. I think first and foremost, we've seen a pretty strong demand from consumers that residual money from some of the stimulus checks continues to drive demand. And then we really don't see sort of incoming supply coming online. Of course, there are a lot of concerns right now around how tariffs might impact supplies and ultimately drive prices even higher.

WHITFIELD: President Trump said this week that he's adding this new tariff to imported cars and car parts. What's the effect on consumers in the economy, you know, not just from the car tariffs, but on all the tariffs that he's implementing?

LEER: At a very high level. The most direct impact is all this uncertainty. We see it playing out with consumers. We see playing out with investors. I think ultimately will make consumers less well off, have less money. And I -- I think it's going to be a pretty significant negative shock to U.S. corporate Americas, too. So I'm very concerned about how this sort of tariff and trade war is actually executed. And I think the downside risks are very severe right now.

WHITFIELD: So let's take a look at that consumer sentiment. You know, the past three months, a pretty steady and pretty steep decline. What does that tell you and how much does that concern you?

LEER: Consumers are on edge. I mean, I just looked at Morning Consult measures at daily. I just looked at our latest reading through this morning, consumer confidence continues to fall. We're not yet at that sort of, for me the threshold is a 5 percent drop on a rolling 30-day basis. We haven't triggered that yet. So it doesn't look to me like we're necessarily on the brink of a recession. But it's not going to take much to throw investors off to have that spillover and hit consumers and drive us into a recession.

Again, this is self-inflicted in many ways. Consumer sentiment was really on a strong footing following Trump's election. And so I get, I see this as sort of a self-inflicted wound where we've shot ourselves in the foot.

WHITFIELD: Tens of thousands of federal government employees are being laid off. Thousands more are expected. You know, aside from the impact on those individuals, how do you see that impacting people who are not even federal government employees? But, and you see it a lot of these town halls, many are expressing their concerns and downright anger about it. How is it impacting everyone potentially?

LEER: Well, when I think about the strength of the U.S. and the U.S. economy, it really is the strength of the U.S. people. And that comes down to sort of the concept of human capital, being well educated, being healthy. Those are concerns that I have. You know, it's one thing to cut back waste, but certainly there is, but to the extent that we're going to negatively affect the health of U.S. adults and ultimately U.S. workers, that I think makes us less competitive globally. And it's going to be very difficult again for sort of the U.S. economy to thrive in a world where we are sick, uneducated and potentially out of jobs.

WHITFIELD: In the past couple of weeks, as everyone's watching the markets drop, you know, and really seesaw in -- in some occasions, how concerned should people be about their 401(k)s or is there a segment of the society who should be a little bit more concerned than others?

LEER: Well, certainly you should be concerned if you're nearing retirement, you haven't sort of reallocated some of your money out of stocks and into bonds or cash or other sort of more assets that are protected from market fluctuations. I think more broadly for young people, right, they have time to make up future gains. But there's a broader question of whether or not the world in which we're moving, this sort of changing and evolving world order will continue to make U.S. corporations as competitive as they have been globally. And that for me, I guess, would be a concern I have around sort of 401(k)s and ultimately your asset allocation in the U.S.

[12:45:10]

WHITFIELD: All right, John Leer, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

LEER: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: Happening right now, protesters gather outside Tesla dealerships in New York and Washington D.C. More protests are expected in locations across the country today. We'll continue to follow the developments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:06]

WHITFIELD: President Trump is taking aim at the Smithsonian Institution. He claims it has been funding programs with, quote, improper ideology. The President's new executive order puts Vice President J.D. Vance in charge of cutting the funding of divisive exhibits from the institution. This includes the Smithsonian museums, research Centers and the National Zoo. Vance already serves on the Smithsonian's Board of Regions. CNN correspondent Brian Todd is joining me right now. You're out there among the museums. What are people saying to you?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, they're saying a lot of different things. And right now it's kind of unclear how the President's executive order is really going to affect these monuments, memorials and exhibits in reality. We're going to have to see how that plays out. But what is clear is that the President is really asserting himself in America's cultural scene and specifically now taking aim at the Smithsonian institution. It comprises 21 museums and the National Zoo -- Zoo, as you mentioned.

And in particular, the President is taking aim at this place, the -- the National Museum of African American History and Culture. He's pointing to this place as one example. As for the Smithsonian Institution overall, the President said in his executive order that the institution has in recent years come under the influence of a divisive race sort of ideology. And again, he's pointing to this place, in particular the National Museum of African American History and Culture, because in his executive order, he says that the museum has, quote, proclaimed that hard work, individualism and the nuclear family are aspects of white culture.

Now, that appears to refer to an educational resource that was here at this museum some years ago that was there to discuss race, but which this museum actually removed and apologized for. But it's that kind of exhibit and resource that the President now no longer wants taxpayers to fund. We talked to a lot of people along the mall here, museum goers, about this, including two people, one of them who's against the President's executive order and one who's in favor of it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD SHAW: I would disagree with the administration's view that there's ideological division promoted by knowing the full truth of our history. And the African American museum and its heritage is the heritage and the problems of we the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In reality, it doesn't include all of everybody. All lives matter, in my opinion. So that's a way of just dividing into -- into little pockets against each other. And now I -- I don't think we should pay for any of those exhibits. As a taxpayer, I don't agree with that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: So lots of differing opinions down here on the Mall. And it's not just this institute -- institution that the president is taking aim at within the Smithsonian. He is also talking about the American Women's History Museum, which actually has not been built yet. And part of his executive order wants to ensure that that museum does not recognize men as women in any respect. Of course, taking aim at the transgender issues and transgender people in sports that have been so controversial in recent years. So, Fredricka, it's many institutions within the Smithsonian that the President is talking about.

He does believe that many of them divide Americans along the lines of race and gender issues and he wants to stop paying for those. We have to really see how that takes, you know, how -- how that really affects them in reality. Are some of them going to go away as a result of that? Not really clear. But hey, what better place and time to talk about it than on the day the cherry blossoms are down here and are in bloom and you got tons of tourists just swarming us here on the National Mall.

[12:53:45]

WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, this is just going to be the beginning of a lot of emotions that are being ignited now. All right, Brian Todd, thank you so much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: For the past two years, CNN anchor Kate Bolduan has been documenting the front lines of the evolving fentanyl crisis through the eyes of paramedics, dealers, active users and a doctor inside a NICU treating the youngest victims, newborns suffering from withdrawal. Here's a preview from Kate's reporting for this week's episode of The Whole Story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is having some tremors. The fentanyl crisis has been very real. I mean opiate use in general, since the time I started practicing in pediatrics and neonatology, there's been an increase in over 300 percent of patients.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, my God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

What we found is that there are so many of these moms that are using that were not comfortable with sharing that information.

BOLDUAN: If a pregnant woman comes in and she holds this information back, how does that impact the care?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they wouldn't have shared it with their provider, they wouldn't know that it's actually more dangerous to stop using if you're already pregnant. So, they would try to get themselves off of it. And sometimes cold turkey, stop using.

BOLDUAN: People are going to hear that and, what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The baby can die inside. So, the baby will then also go through withdrawal, much like the mom will if she stops using, and it can cause the baby to actually die in utero.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[12:59:58]

WHITFIELD: Watch Fentanyl in America away out on CNN's The Whole Story, presented by Anderson Cooper this Sunday, 8:00 p.m.